


a strange creation

by eggosandxmen



Category: Beetlejuice (1988), Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Autistic Beetlejuice, Autistic Lydia Deetz, Bisexual Adam & Barbara Maitland, F/M, Found Family, High School, Homophobia, Lesbian Lydia Deetz, Lydia Is a Freshman !, Outing, The Maitlands and Beej Are Lydia's Parents, Trans Adam Maitland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 04:43:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19288375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggosandxmen/pseuds/eggosandxmen
Summary: Lydia gets outed at school. Adam, Barbara, and Beej have her back.





	a strange creation

**Author's Note:**

> I watched the movie and listened to the musical in ONE DAY (today) so excuse me if this is off but I Love Them. This is sort of movie!maitlands and musical!lyds&beej, which is why it's tagged both ways. Lyd is 14.

Lydia’s new school is huge. 

Barbara has her hand securely on Lydia’s shoulder, steering her towards the front steps, unseen by Lydia’s peers. Lydia looks at her out of the corner of her eye, and feels around for her hand, trying her best to be discreet. Her mother obliges, slipping her hand into Lydia’s and kissing her on the head before pushing her softly towards the school’s open doors. 

“Be safe, okay, Lyds? Adam put some extra fidget toys in your bag. If you need anything, remember Beej says you can summon him anytime you need today, okay, and-”

Lydia gives her a small smile, looking around to make sure no one could see her talking to thin air before responding. “I’ll be fine, mom, promise.”

Barbara beams. “You’re gonna do amazing, honey.” 

Lydia nods, and Barbara evaporates in a haze of smoke, leaving Lydia utterly alone. She turns to the doors and forces herself to take the first step towards them, her hands clutching the straps of her backpack.

-  
It’s six months and four days since Lydia began ninth grade, and no one is looking at her right. There’s whispers, and giggles, and all the things that Adam promised wouldn’t really happen in high school.

She gets through math class before anyone says a word, and then there’s a girl in a green jacket coming up to her, flanked by another girl and clicking her tongue, making Lydia flinch.

“Hey, Lydia.”

“Uh. Hi.”

They’re surrounding her, now, backing her into a corner, and Lydia blockers her chest with her folder, her shoulders tensing. The girl that’s not in the lead blinks hard at her and then starts to speak.

“We heard that you were, like. Well. Uh.” Her words flounder, trailing off.

“We heard you were _gay,_ ” her hauteur companion finishes for her, staring daggers as Lydia avoids eye contact. “Is that true?”

Lydia’s throat closes tight, and then they’re glaring, and she can’t hear what they’re saying because there is an ocean of blood roaring in her ears. 

“Well, we got our answer,” the girl sneers, and they leave, strutting out the door with smirks on their faces.

Lydia-

Lydia is _crashing._

She hadn’t told anyone. Anyone. Not Barbara, not Adam, not even Beetlejuice. Not _anyone._

How did they-

It doesn’t _matter_ how they know, they _do-_

She grabs her bag with hands that don’t feel like hers, and then she runs. Every eye in the hallway feels like it’s on her, and she’s crashing. She’s crashing, she’s running, she’s-

She slams into the bathroom and locks herself into the stall farthest from the door, rocking herself back and forth, hot tears streaming down her face and cries escaping her lips without conscious thought. They know, someone found out, and now there’s nothing she can do.

But-

She can’t stay here. And he _said_ summoning’s fine for emergencies.

She forces her throat to open, gasping.

“Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, _Beetlejuice!_ ” 

A crash and a bang and a burst of green smoke, and her best friend is wedged next to her in the stall, rubbing his eyes.

“Jesus, Lyds, I was slee-” He cuts himself off as he notices her curled-up position, eyes widening. “What happened?”

Lydia chokes out a sob and Beej runs a hand through his hair, looking at her worriedly. 

“Okay, okay, okay. Is it okay if I touch you? I’m taking you home.”

In answer, Lydia throws herself into his arms, koala-wrapping herself around his torso. He holds onto her, snapping his fingers behind her back, their surroundings erupting into smoke and fog.

Lydia closes her eyes tightly, waiting until the smell of her school is replaced by lavender and wood to reopen them, taking in the comforting familiarity of her bedroom.

Beej lets go of her slowly. “You get into your soft clothes, okay? Delia washed your hoodie, take off the uniform and wear that. Do you want me to get Barbara, Adam, Charles, or Delia? Uh. Hold up fingers, okay, I know you’re non-verbal.”

She holds up her index and middle finger, and Beej nods again, swallowing hard, flaying his fingers out and then making a fist, over and over again before disappearing. 

Lydia slowly shucks off her uniform and pulls on her hoodie, grabbing for her hair and pulling on it hard, rocking herself until she hears a knock on the door.

“Lydia, sweetheart?” Adam says softly. “Can we come in?”

She makes a noise she hopes conveys a yes and the door clicks open to reveal three incredibly worried ghosts- Adam gets over to her in three strides and she falls into his arms, beginning to cry again.

After a few minutes of him holding her, Lydia feels steady enough to talk again, and she sits down on her bed, the others crushing themselves next to her. 

“Do you want to tell us what’s going on?” Barbara asks, and Lydia-

Lydia has to say it, now, doesn’t she?

“I- I. I. Someone found out that I like girls. I like girls. I’m- you know, I’m-”

She can’t look at them. She can’t. They’ll hate her, and she-

Barbara drops her head in her hands and lets out a sigh of- _relief?_

Adam rubs circles into her back, giving a shaky smile. “I’m so sorry that happened, but, fortunately, you’ve got three whole ghosts who have exact experiences in this area.”

It takes her a minute to connect the dots, but-

Realization dawns on her face and Adam laughs. “Lydia, do you remember that Barbara and I can’t have biological children?”

Lydia nods, and Adam grabs for Barbara’s hand.

“That’s because I’m a transgender man, honey. I’m also bisexual.”

Beej cackles. “I was, like, the first ever bi person in Europe. The Black Plague wasn’t powerful enough to wipe me out, and fucking straighties will _not_ be messing with the only human I’ve ever _actually liked-_ ”

“ _Beej_ ,” Barbara chides, before looking back at Lydia. “I’m also bi, honey. We are so proud that you told us, but- you said someone at school found out? What did they do?”

“They said they found out and then they _cornered_ me and _asked_ and _laughed_ and everyone knows and I’m going to die.”

Beej smiles with all his teeth, a glint in his eyes. “I can think of some other dead things that would be more helpful to this cause than you, Lydia.”

“You have a plan?” Barabara asks, sliding over and hooking her hand through Lydia’s.

“Leave it to me.”

-

The laughing starts during lunch, and Lydia has to count down from ten six times, but she manages to square her shoulders and glare at the offenders cackling at her.

“What’re you lookin’ at, you-” The jock nearest to her says a word so foul Lydia’s anger threatens to spill over, but she keeps it in check. He keeps throwing slurs at her, and she keeps just standing there.

“You gonna say something, huh, chickie?”

She smiles.

“Beetlejuice-”

A look of confusion, a cackle-

“Beetlejuice-”

Her eyes start to grow hot and the jock stumbles backward. A smile grows on Lydia’s face.

“ _Beetlejuice!_ ”

Beej lands next to her, smiling. He cracks his neck and then his knuckles.

“Would these be them, Lyds, my dear?”

“The very same.”

Beetlejuice’s smile stretches until it’s almost unholy, across his _entire_ face. “Showtime.”

**Author's Note:**

> NEW SPECIAL INTEREST!! PLEASE COMMENT!!! I LOVE THEM!!


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